IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) Shares Down 2.5% - What's Next?

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $26.86 and last traded at $27.16. 19,028,001 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 45,963,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IONQ has been the topic of several research reports. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of IonQ from $22.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of IonQ from $12.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of IonQ in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on IonQ from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on IonQ from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, IonQ presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

IonQ Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.54 and a beta of 2.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $34.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.09.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $12.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.56 million. IonQ had a negative return on equity of 36.82% and a negative net margin of 457.85%. IonQ's quarterly revenue was up 102.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CRO Rima Alameddine sold 9,875 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total transaction of $115,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 638,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,488,001.76. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Hume Chapman sold 13,106 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total transaction of $389,641.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,363 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,011.99. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,348 shares of company stock worth $2,181,123. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IonQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of IonQ by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank purchased a new stake in shares of IonQ in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of IonQ by 1,348.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of IonQ in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in IonQ by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,550 shares of the company's stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.42% of the company's stock.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc engages in the development of general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. It sells access to quantum computers of various qubit capacities. The company makes access to its quantum computers through cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Braket, Microsoft's Azure Quantum, and Google's Cloud Marketplace, as well as through its cloud service.